


the road home

by thebesttempinchiswick



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-06
Updated: 2013-11-06
Packaged: 2017-12-31 15:38:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1033392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebesttempinchiswick/pseuds/thebesttempinchiswick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU Reunion set during season 3. The Doctor finds a way back to Pete's World, but it takes him to the year 2004 where he must wait until he can see Rose again. Oneshot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the road home

Rose Tyler sat silently in the back of the car as she and her family drove home from Norway. She was in shock. Three months ago, the life she knew was shattered in a few short hours. Last night, she had dreamt of the Doctor calling out to her, and followed his voice to Dårlig Ulv Stranden, in Norway. She cursed herself in her mind. She should've known better than to hope for the impossible. But when had she ever stopped hoping before? When had she started to think that some things were actually impossible? Could she really just give up? No, not yet. Not today. That would only make the memory worse, knowing that the last day she saw him was the day that she had broken. She looked out the window, wondering when she'd get home. 

>

It had been three years, three months, one day, and forty seven minutes since the Doctor came to this universe. He was with Martha when he found the crack in the walls, in 2004. He dropped her at home, explaining that he would come for her as soon as he could, but he might not make it back. The TARDIS couldn't work properly in this universe, at least not easily. He could use small amounts of energy every now and then to change places, but he couldn't move in time. He needed to save as much energy as possible to do that. 

So, he waited. Three years, three months, one day, and forty seven minutes. He had looked up at the same stars every night, living as anonymously as possible. He couldn't risk tampering with the timelines. 

He watched Lumic and the Cybermen rise and fall. He watched Peter Tyler rebuild Torchwood from the ground up and he watched Mickey Smith transform from the boy he had met to one of Torchwood's top agents. In a way, those times made him proud. 

He watched the love of his life torn away from him, but this time from her angle. Those times made him sad. And every night since, he guarded her, waiting until she went to Norway. Waiting until now. Waiting, looking up at her window, wondering when he'd get home.

>

This was the day. Or night, really. It would be late when they got back. After they left, the Doctor went into town. He checked his TARDIS again. She was ready to make the jump, but he had to calculate it perfectly. This was what he spent the day doing. When he was done, he changed out of the jumper and jeans he had chosen to blend in with the locals. He put back on his brown pinstripe suit and his Janis Joplin coat. He looked himself over in the mirror. 

Why was he so nervous? He didn't know. Was it because he was afraid she might not want to come back? Was he afraid she had lied on that beach, to spare him? Or was it the opposite, and he was afraid of the truth? He quickly pushed those thoughts away. This was his one chance, and he couldn't afford to blow it. 

When it got late, he headed to the Tyler mansion. He went around to the front door and started to sonic the lock open...

Only to have alarms start blaring.

>

"Hello, Peter Tyler speaking"

"Mr. Tyler, this is the police. There's been an attempted burglary at your mansion. We have apprehended the culprit and are arresting him outside of your residence right now."

"What? Don't leave, I'll be there in a few moments."

"Will do, sir."

*click*

"What was that about?" Asked Jackie. She was partly curious, and partly happy just to have something to break the heavy silence that hung in the car. 

"Someone tried to break into the house. Cops got him, though. Told them to wait for us to get there." 

>

The police were there in a matter of minutes, with the Doctor still staring at the door in bewilderment. They slammed the cuffs on him and had him up against the side of the car before they checked his records. The records, they found, were few and far between. 

"So, Mr. Smith, you're not a citizen of the UK, you have no home, and no job, and you expect us to believe that you were here 'visiting some friends'?" Asked the officer. The Doctor winced, having seen the flaw in his plans. 

"Well..." he began, but another officer cut him off. 

"Mr. Tyler has told us to wait, saying he'll be home in a few moments."

"Alright then." Sighed the first officer, clearly annoyed. 

The Doctor sighed inwardly. This would've been hard enough to explain without the police around. And Jackie was gonna murder him with a kitchen knife if she thought he tried to rob them, Scotland Yard be damned. 

As he was thinking this very thought, Pete Tyler and his family pulled up in their car. 

>

Peter Tyler stepped out of his car, only to see the Doctor pressed against the side of the police car. 

"Hello!" said the Doctor with forced cheer.

Pete took a deep breath. This was going to be a long night, he could already tell. "Why did you try to break into my house?" 

"I let myself in with the interest of greeting your daughter upon your arrival back home, and instead Scotland Yard greeted me here." quipped the man in handcuffs. 

"Please un-handcuff this man, before my wife and daughter get out of the car." sighed Pete. 

The police took the handcuffs off of the Doctor just as Rose stepped around the Jeep.

>

Rose stepped out of the Jeep and around the side. "Dad, what's goin' on?" She asked. He looked at her with pursed lips and she turned to the police car. 

Her heart caught in her throat.

There was the Doctor, rubbing his wrists from the handcuffs. 

"Are you... really here this time?" she asked. How had he gotten back to her? Had he really come back to her? Had she just gone mad now, and she saw his face where everyone else saw a stranger's? 

"Yeah, love, I'm here. I made it back." He said, taking a step forward and reaching out to her. 

It was like gravity. She ran into his outstretched arms and felt him sweep her off her feet and into his embrace. 

She didn't know how long she had been in his arms, tears soaking through his tie onto his chest, him murmuring softly into her hair when her mum cleared her throat behind them. 

>

She turned to look at her mother, and he saw her blush prettily. It tugged at his hearts, along with the tear tracks still fresh on her cheeks, which he longed to wipe away and pull her close again. He longed to bury himself in her and never leave. 

Then again, this was hardly the time, with her mother standing over there glowering at him. 

"Jackie! Pete! Mickeey!" He said as cheerfully as he could manage, given the circumstances. Jackie's glare did not change, but he saw Pete and Mickey fighting down grins. Neither of them were doing a good job at it, though. 

"You alien git! First you drag my family all the way to bloody Norway, then you just disappear, and now you're breaking into our house?! What have you got to say for yourself!?" Jackie demanded. 

"Well, first of all-" he began, but Jackie cut him off again. 

"You know what," she said, holding up her hand, "let's just tell the police they can leave and let's go inside for this. It's been a long day." 

It most certainly had been. When they were inside, everyone sat down on the sofas in the sitting room and Jackie made some tea. Once everyone was comfortable, Jackie began again. "Now, what were you gonna say?" It was more a command than a question. He looked around at the four expectant pairs of eyes, all trained on him. 

"Well, first of all, I wasn't trying to rob you, I only wanted to wait for you inside. I tried to sonic the lock and my screwdriver set it off."

"Well of course it did, it's protected against cyber technology. Screwdrivers included." Interjected Jackie. 

"Mum, if you keep interrupting, we're never gonna get through this." Said Rose, who was currently snuggled into his side, knees drawn up to her chest and clasping her mug with both hands. He had his mug in one hand and the other arm around her shoulders. Jackie and Pete sat on a sofa across from them, and Mickey sat in a love seat to the side. 

"Alright, alright." Sighed Jackie. 

"As I was saying. I knew you were going to the beach today, and I knew you'd be back late, so I wanted to wait here. Unfortunately, Scotland Yard had other ideas."

"How did you get back? How did you know we'd be going today?" Asked Rose. Her mind was bubbling over with questions, but she hoped he would answer them without prodding. 

"Maybe I should start at the beginning." He said with a wince. 

>

"It's been three years, three months, one day, and two hours since I came to this universe. So, I guess, three years, nine months, one day, and two hours since I last saw you, Rose," He said, looking at her when he said her name "since I was with Martha for about six months before I found a way back. We were in 2004, stopping an alien invasion, as usual. Bloody Sontarans. Anyway, we were walking back to the TARDIS when I found it. Big old crack between the universes. I dropped Martha at home, couldn't risk it if... something happened." The way he said the last sentence made Rose shiver, wondering what he might mean. 

"When I got here, it was 2004 as well. I couldn't get the TARDIS to travel in time, only space, and only short jumps. Here to London or Glasgow and back, maybe. I've been saving all the energy I can for the jump back, but she should work properly in the other universe. That is, if you do, still, want to come back with me." He turned to look at Rose again on the last sentence.

"'S like I said, you're stuck with me." she said, half grinning. 

He broke out into a full grin. "Yeah, but stuck with you? That's not so bad."

She really smiled this time, even with tears leaking out of her eyes. He couldn't resist it and pulled her into his arms again, burying his face in her hair. 

>

Later, he helped her load the few things she had back onto the TARDIS, and then he turned to everyone else. "Final boarding call." He said. 

"No thanks, Doctor. I've got a baby on the way, and I can't make Pete leave his companies here alone."

"Mick-ey?" 

Mickey just smiled. "Sorry, boss. Torchwood here still needs me. Just, take care of Rose, or I'll jump across the void myself and kick your arse."

"And I'll be right in behind him." Added Pete. 

"On my life, I will take care of her." said the Doctor soberly. 

Just then, Rose stepped back out of the TARDIS, and the Doctor stepped back so she could say goodbye to her family. 

"Mickey, I'll miss you so much. You too, Dad. Take care of my little brother. Or sister." She said, hugging both men in turn. 

"Mum, I love you, okay? I know you hate this, but it makes me happy. I'm really gonna miss you too, but you have Dad now and the baby on the way, so I know you'll be okay, alright? Try not to miss me too much. We had 20 years together, and it was great." she tried to hold herself together as she said goodbye to her mum. 

"Rose, you remember what I told you when we were back over there? About how, 40 years from now, I won't even know who you are anymore?"

Rose nodded, a little confused as to why her mother would bring that up now. 

"I lied. You're always gonna be my baby girl, no matter how far you go. Okay?" 

She nodded, unable to keep the tears from spilling out onto her cheeks. She hugged her mother goodbye and stepped inside the open TARDIS doors. 

"Come 'ere, you!" Jackie pulled the Doctor into a hug before he, too could retreat inside his TARDIS. 

>

Once they dematerialized, the Doctor put them back to 2004 and then back through the pre-existing crack. He sealed it up on his way out, and hoped that no more existed. If people started experimenting again, he shuddered to think what could happen. 

Rose was sitting on the jump seat watching him fly the old girl, and he sat down next to her. "How are you?" He asked softly. 

She gave a little laugh. Rassilon, he had missed that sound. "I'm tired. I think I need to sleep before any big adventures." She thought about asking after Martha, who she was, how he had met her, but decided she was too tired to really listen. "I'm gonna go to bed. You gonna sleep tonight?" She asked. 

"Come to think of it, I just might." He said as he walked her back to her bedroom, arm draped around her shoulder, her head leaned into his side. 

When they got to her room, she pulled on some pyjamas in the en suite and he settled onto her bed. 

"Doctor?"

"Hm?" 

"Will you stay?"

He smiled at her. "Of course."

He took off his shoes and jacket, and put his screwdriver on the bedside table. He got under the duvet with her and pulled her into his arms again, the familiar scent of her hair and her pillow bringing back memories. 

The first time he had stayed with her was after the Dalek in Utah, when she had had nightmares about them. He was very grumpy back then, always brooding, but secretly, he didn't mind at all. He held her while she had cried after she saw her father die, and had stayed a lot of nights afterwards. The nights got later and later when Jack came onboard, but it had been the best time any of them had had in awhile. 

After he regenerated, he was with her almost every night. The only time they ever had a big row was after France on a spaceship, and Mickey had made sure he knew what an insensitive, thoughtless bastard he had been before he went to apologize to Rose. In the end, she forgave him, but he knew her better than to think she wouldn't be a little bitter over the whole incident. 

He fell asleep lost in his memories, with Rose Tyler in his arms. He hadn't felt this good in a long while. 

>

Rose woke up drenched in cold sweat, a scream halfway up her throat. 

She shot up in bed as the nightmare faded away. For a brief second, she panicked, not knowing where she was. Then, memory washed over her and she laid back down on the bed. 

"Rose, are you alright?" Came a question from the other side of the bed. 

"I'm fine." She lied. She could feel herself still trembling, and so could the Doctor. He was instantly more awake and brushing loose strands of hair out of her face. 

"What was it about?" He almost whispered to her. He knew her better than that. 

She caved. "It's been the same nightmare for awhile now. Since I got pulled across. I keep dreaming about Daleks, the sky filled with them. Everyone is dying. And then, then I lose my grip on that lever, but no one's there this time, I'm just alone in the darkness, and it's like I'm suffocating.." She stopped when she realized she was crying again. God, how did she have any more tears left today? 

"Shh, it's alright now. You're safe." He held her close to stop her shaking. 

"I love you." He whispered to her. He really, really did. His beautiful girl, his perfect Rose. He had loved her a very long time, and he would keep her safe.

"I love you too." She said, looking up at him. Part of her wanted to sob, to thank whatever gods were up there that he hadn't stopped loving her all those years he spent trying to find her again. But the tired part told her to just lay in his arms and breathe him in. 

"How long are you gonna stay with me?" 

"Forever." And she meant it. 

They were home.

>

Fin.


End file.
